Willie Parker Parked For the Season

I don't think the Steelers will lose because Davenport has to take Willie's place as the starting running back. If Pittsburgh is one-and-done in the playoffs the offensive line and the defense will be most accountable.

With Willie Parker's leg broken, the Steelers' playoff hopes now rest on the right shoulder of Ben Roethlisberger.

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Somewhere in Georgia, Verron Haynes is sitting by his telephone waiting for the Steelers to offer him a contract.

I was a relieved when Parker's injury was revealed and the news was a broken bone rather than some kind of ligament damage. Parker will be fine next year.

Before we start a petition to get Najeh Davenport's head carved into Mt. Rushmore, let's remember the Rams are terrible. Here are a few other backs who have scalded the Rams for big rushing games:

Deshaun Foster, 17 carries for 94 yards

Frank Gore, 20 carries 82 yards, 2 tds

Tampa Bay's duo of Graham and Pittman combined for 136 yards on 15 carries

Dallas' Jones & Barber combined for 102 on 21 carries

Jerious Norwood ran for 94 yards on 8 carries

The Bengals tandem of Johnson & Dorsey ran for 173 on 27 carries.

some of the numbers listed above are eye popping to say the least. AT least Najeh is keeping up with the pack.

The only thing Davenport does better than Parker is catch the ball.

There is a perverse segment of "Steeler Nation" which thinks the Steelers will be better off with Najeh in the backfield. Apparently they feel a power back is the missing element to the Steelers ground game. What the Steelers' ground game lacks is blocking by the offensive line. Anyway, not only is the power back logic archaic, it's inapplicable to the Steelers' current situation. It is simply more typical, Jerome Bettis-centric ignorance which these people feel the need to spout on local radio. Calling Najeh Davenport a power back is insulting to Earl Campbell. Heck it's insulting to Ron Dayne and TJ Duckett.

I wrote a piece on Parkers yards per carry in comparison to Adrian Peterson's, when Parker was leading the league in rushing attempts, and averaging 3.9 yards per carry. Since then, Parker bumped his avg. up over four, and despite limited touches, had been breaking free for big plays with more frequency in the Steelers last few games.

Many Steelers fans, it seems, would rather have Reuben Droughns than Barry Sanders. As was the case with Sanders, Parker excelled this season in spite of his offensive line.

If Najeh was that good he'd be starting somewhere, he was cut by the Packer's during '06, and while Green Bay did have Ahman Green at the time, the organization had to realize holding onto Green was not in the team's long term itinerary, and they still let Davenport walk.

Davenport is a good third down back he's made some big plays this year for the Steelers. He has been more than serviceable in spelling Parker for short stretches, and I believe he is capable of carrying the load in the post-season. However, to say the Steelers are better off because Davenport won't have as many carries for negative yards is crazy.

Most of Parker's negative runs come on plays where an o-lineman is beat cleanly, and a linebacker or d-lineman has a free shot at Parker. It is not as if Davenport can bowl over defensive lineman. If anything, Willie's quickness has reduced the amount of negative yardage resulting from poor line play.

Does anyone think Davenport could have out-run the Seattle secondary for a 75 yard td in Super Bowl XL?

There is no evidence that the yards gained by Davenport are yards that would not have been gained by Parker, or that Davenport would have gained yards on the plays on which Parker was stopped for a loss. There's no way to quantify the hypothetical.

Regardless of Davenport's skill set compared to Parker's, what really bothers me is some fan's insistence that Parker is not a good fit for the offense, and that the Steelers need a big back who can run people over. It would help to get a bigger straight ahead type of back to compliment Willie next season, but not to replace him.

Willie Parker was leading the league in rushing when he was injured. How can you complain about the way a guy runs when he is leading the NFL in rushing yards.

The Steelers' most heralded running back of all time, Franco Harris, almost forced Jim Brown out of retirement when he threatened Brown's rushing record, because Brown was so enraged by Harris' tendency to run out of bounds.

Sometimes Najeh looks as if he's not strong enough to run people over and not quick enough to elude defenders, I often see him turning into tacklers instead of lowering his shoulder. Other times, he appears to have a nice blend of speed and strength. He's confusing.

Not that it effects his play on the field or that I care about what kind of skeletons lie in Najeh's closet, but all those fans who laud the Rooney's for staying away from trouble making WR's from Oakland, and other players of questionable ilk, never talk about Davenport's off the field issues. Most recently he was allegedly involved in a bar fight and missed a game as a result. Elliptical cycle indeed.

I hope Najeh does well for the Steelers in the post-season. He definitely has fresh legs, and will be a more dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield that Willie. If the defense can't stop the Steelers' playoff opponents, it's not going to matter if it's Parker or Davenport in the backfield. The Steelers are going to have to throw to win games.

Willie Parker Parked For the Season

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